BizNS - Vol. 4, Issue 2

The Track Ahead
Volume 4, Issue 2 | March-April 2012
Mar/Apr ’12
1
ON TRACK
TO THE FUTURE
6
focused on
the big picture
9
thinking big
with bellevue
12
future track
status report
13
rit: a
milestone
15
18
21
22
25
28
BACK
COVER
culture
change at ns
outlook
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1
Lowering costs, improving efficiencies
Future Track is all about putting plans into action. NS has developed five-year plans
in the past but often shelved them after presenting them to the intended audience,
Butler said.
By focusing on key drivers of NS’ performance, including safety and service,
Track 2012 helped change that. CEO Wick Moorman made sure the plan didn’t sit
on a shelf, Butler said.
Based on lessons learned from the economic downturn, the committee has made
Future Track flexible, with plans to update it annually based on market conditions.
Rather than set fixed, five-year goals that can be upset by unexpected
circumstances – as Track 2012 was by the recession – Future Track offers
“As much as anything, a road map to meet the year’s corporate goals in safety, service, operating
Future Track is about identifying ratio, revenue, and earnings per share.
Ultimately, the aim of Future Track is to help the railroad lower operating
the resources it takes to move costs
while becoming more efficient and productive.
the freight as efficiently as
“At any given time, we have 175,000 rail cars and 3,800 locomotives
we can, and making the operating on our system,” said steering committee member Mike Wheeler,
service we provide as cost vice president transportation. “As much as anything, Future Track is about
identifying the resources it takes to move the freight as efficiently as we
effective as possible. We want can, and making the service we provide as cost effective as possible.
our employees to be thinking We want our employees to be thinking about productivity and efficiency
about productivity and on a daily basis.”
efficiency on a daily basis.”
A matter of priority
Putting technology into the hands of front-line workers is a primary theme
of Future Track projects. Dispatchers, locomotive engineers, and conductors,
in particular, now have technology at their fingertips to make their jobs
easier and help them make better decisions.
The Future Track process is helping NS set priorities for capital investments in
equipment, infrastructure, and technology. Even during the economic downturn,
NS has continued spending money on some of those key projects.
“Particularly on the technology side, that has become the threshold: If it doesn’t
pass the test of advancing one or more Future Track goals, chances are it’s not
going to have priority,” Butler said.
NS began rolling out Remote Intelligent Terminal, or RIT, during the recession,
allowing NS to work out bugs early on while business was down. RIT now is
boosting the productivity of conductors and office employees in operations service.
NS also developed its pioneering Locomotive Engineer Assist Display Event
Recorder, or LEADER, from a pilot to a production model during the recession.
LEADER-equipped locomotives now are running on the Northern Region main line
between Chicago and Northern New Jersey, and plans are under way to expand
LEADER to other key routes.
— Mike Wheeler,
vice president transportation
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
The GPS-based LEADER, which prompts engineers on train handling to achieve
maximum fuel efficiency, has “huge potential” to reduce NS’ fuel costs, at around
$1 billion annually one of the railroad’s largest operating expenses, Butler said.
LEADER-equipped engines on the Northern Region main line have achieved average
fuel savings of 6 percent. Based on NS’ fuel use in 2010, a 6 percent reduction
systemwide would save about 27 million gallons and $60 million to more than $100
million in costs, depending on diesel prices. In addition, burning less fuel will help
NS meet its corporate sustainability goal to lower the railroad’s carbon footprint.
“The sooner we get LEADER rolled out, the sooner we will realize a fairly large
amount of annual savings,” Butler said.
NS has benefitted in similar ways by investing in the Unified Train Control System,
or UTCS, and Movement Planner. While a single NS dispatcher is responsible for
train movements over a 100- to 200-mile territory, the computer-based UTCS/
Movement Planner is designed to plot train routes across the entire network to
minimize delays and improve on-time performance. The system looks ahead eight
hours to calculate runs based on thousands of pieces of data, from train length and
tonnage to track geography.
n top: An engineer reviews a GPS-based
LEADER board mounted in the locomotive cab.
n ABOVE: The green lines show where
LEADER-equipped trains are operating or
being deployed on NS’ system, while the
yellow lines show where routes will be
expanded this year.
3
“We have really good dispatchers, but there’s
only so much a human can comprehend when
you’re talking about all these inputs from across the
network, and then having to look out into the future,”
said steering committee member Fred Ehlers, vice
president network and service management. “These
types of projects didn’t exist 10 years ago, and now,
because of improvements in technology and data
quality, we’re giving our people tools to help them
be even better.”
n ABOVE: Fred Ehlers , vice president
network and service management,
is helping lead a study on customer
service and costs.
Customer service a key focus
A challenge this year is to better understand the drivers behind customer service.
Among other things, the committee will examine the relationship between service
and costs such as fuel, locomotive maintenance, train crews, and rail car rentals.
“If we can offer a level of service that our customers find valuable and that is
also valuable to us in terms of volume, revenue, and productivity, it’s a win-win,”
said Ehlers, one of the service study leaders.
“These types of projects didn’t
The committee is sifting data in ways it never has before, such as
exist 10 years ago, and now, examining how NS’ operating costs are affected by how efficiently trains move
because of improvements in across the system, known as network velocity. The study also is examining
the resources NS needs to recover quickly from network disruptions, such as
technology and data quality, derailments and snow storms.
we’re giving our people tools to
“We’re not talking about service at any cost,” Butler said. “I could stage
50
extra locomotives at all our major terminals, and we would never have
help them be even better.”
another train held for power, but locomotives are expensive and that wouldn’t
make economic sense. At the same time, we want reliability and we want
— Fred Ehlers, resiliency in terms of being able to sustain our levels of service.”
Adding complexity, markets served by NS have different expectations of
vice president network and
said steering committee member Mike McClellan, vice president
service management service,
intermodal and automotive marketing.
“We can have a lot of discussion about how fast we need to run and how
consistent we need to be to get the business,” McClellan said. “Some customers,
like UPS, need speed; if we change their schedules negatively, we’re going to lose
freight because of it.”
McClellan said NS has to consider its service levels relative to the competition,
which includes not only other rail carriers but trucks and barges.
“Our discussions are about what is the right balance between train efficiency
and service requests and the overall fluidity of the railroad,” McClellan said.
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
Culture changes
As NS this year begins to introduce changes in its
safety and operating culture, including a renewed
emphasis on service, Future Track will play a key role
in helping NS achieve its goals, Butler said.
“With the focus on service, we’ve got to have
our employees on board, and that’s where cultural
initiatives come in, but people have to have the
technology and the other resources to improve
service,” Butler said. “That’s where Future Track
comes in. So we absolutely will be supporting the
cultural transformation of the company.” n BizNS
n TOP: Cherise Caldwell, a dispatcher on the Georgia Division,
uses the UTCS dispatch system in Atlanta to monitor train traffic.
n RIGHT: Conductor Phil Cloud uses a Remote Control Locomotive
device to operate an SD40-2 locomotive at Bellevue Terminal.
5
Focused on the big picture
n BELOW: Deb Butler, executive
vice president planning and chief
information officer, chairs the Future
Track Steering Committee.
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
The steering committee overseeing Future Track plays a key role in shaping
Norfolk Southern’s strategic business initiatives.
Led by Deb Butler, executive vice president planning and chief information
officer, the 15-member panel is composed of company vice presidents who span all
departments and bring diverse views and experience to the table. These NS heavy
hitters are tough minded about their charge to help the railroad plan for long-term
success, Butler said.
“I expect them to put their ideas out there and challenge each other,” Butler said.
“I don’t want a bunch of happy talk.”
The committee helps NS identify and prioritize initiatives to improve performance
in five broad areas: safety, service, asset utilization, fuel efficiency, revenue growth,
and workforce productivity.
“Usually, the company vice presidents wouldn’t get together like this,” said
Mike McClellan, vice president intermodal and automotive marketing. “It gives
us a chance to talk about the nature of our service, our cost structure, the needs
of our business, and about solutions – whether they are operational, technological,
or organizational.”
“I expect them to put their
ideas out there and challenge
each other. I don’t want a
bunch of happy talk.”
— Deb Butler, executive vice
president planning and chief
information officer
Steering
Committee
members
Deb Butler, executive vice president planning
and chief information officer
The committee focuses on two fundamental
issues: Is NS as productive and efficient as it should
be, and are service levels appropriate to meet
business goals set for traffic volume, revenue, and
growth. Front-line supervisors and employees make
daily decisions to enhance efficiency, productivity,
and service, McClellan said, but Future Track members
focus on systemwide issues.
“This group is not some sort of clearinghouse or
approval process for every efficiency idea, because
there are 100 or 1,000 efficiency decisions being made
every day within our departments,” McClellan said.
“We try to tackle the ones that cross departments
and are more strategic.”
Mike Wheeler, vice president transportation,
said Future Track keeps department heads focused
on common goals and ensures that strategic projects
get the “right support, the right priority, and the
right resources.”
Committee members have “a firm belief that Norfolk
Southern can improve service and become more efficient
and effective,” said member Cindy Earhart, vice
president human resources.
The committee has ensured that NS is focusing on
the important things, Butler said.
“That’s where I think Future Track really has been
successful, and where I think it has a lot of value going
forward,” she said. “This is a way to make a five-year
plan more than just an exercise on paper.” n BizNS
Tim Drake, vice president engineering
Cindy Earhart, vice president human resources
Fred Ehlers, vice president network and
service management
Terry Evans, vice president process engineering
John FriedmanN, vice president strategic planning
DON GRAAB, vice president mechanical
David Lawson, vice president marketing
Mike McClellan, vice president intermodal
and automotive marketing
Danny Smith, senior vice president energy
and properties
Marta Stewart, vice president and treasurer
Gerhard Thelen, vice president operations
planning and support
Scott Weaver, vice president labor relations
Tom Werner, vice president information
technology
Mike Wheeler, vice president transportation
7
n TOP: A unit coke train departs Bellevue yard, at left, while a remotecontrolled locomotive set shoves cars for classification over the hump.
n ABOVE: Conductor James Honaker, wearing a Remote Control Locomotive
device, pulls an uncoupling lever to separate cars for classification at the
Bellevue hump yard.
n RIGHT: At the Bellevue yard, welder helper Jim Landoll grinds a frog,
an X-shaped device that is part of the track switch layout.
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
NS is thinking big
with Bellevue project
When Norfolk & Western Railroad built Bellevue Yard in 1967, company leaders
set aside enough property to double the size of the Northern Ohio hump yard if
business demanded it.
More than 40 years later, that time has arrived.
Expanding Bellevue Yard has been identified by NS’ Future Track Steering Committee
as a priority, and the project will kick into high gear this year. By spring, NS plans
to begin grading work to support 38 additional classification tracks, nearly double
the existing 42 classification tracks, and prepare for construction of a second hump
to double the yard’s capability to sort and switch rail cars.
Why is this occurring now?
Bellevue is located at a “sweet spot” of increasing train traffic in the Northern
Region, said John LeStrange, NS director terminal operations. A big driver of the
volume is a drilling boom to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale deposit.
Steel-making and the automotive industry also are key factors.
“Strategically, it’s right where all the traffic wants to go,” LeStrange said.
By that, he means computer models NS uses to forecast future traffic flow show
that Bellevue provides the most efficient route to switch cars for timely delivery
to customers.
“It’s all about growing the business, improving asset utilization, being more
efficient, and improving customer service,” said John Friedmann, vice president
strategic planning and a member of the Future Track committee.
A major investment
The roughly $160 million project is a massive undertaking. On an area that is 5.5 miles
long, the expansion includes building about 38.5 miles of additional track and
installing approximately 145 miles of underground cable for the communications
and signals system, all done while the yard continues a busy operation.
“The biggest challenge is going to be constructing all this in a live yard and
trying to minimize disruptions to the operation,” said Mark Dewberry, NS chief
engineer design and construction.
n above: Jonathan Elswick is
terminal superintendent at Bellevue.
The Bellevue expansion
is the largest involving a
hump yard in decades and
includes building about 38.5
miles of track and installing
approximately 145 miles
of underground cable for
communications and signals.
9
At completion, now targeted for early 2015,
Bellevue will be NS’ largest hump yard and one of
the largest in North America. It also will be the only
one of NS’ 12 production yards with dual humping
capability, gaining the ability to switch and classify
arriving cars from two tracks simultaneously.
It is the biggest construction project on an NS
production yard in decades, Dewberry said. “I was
a project engineer when the Linwood hump yard was
built in 1978, when it was on Southern Railway, and
other than a small process yard at Enola, Pa., I don’t
know of one being built since then,” he said.
Construction of the second hump involves building
a compacted soil fill as a ramp with track, switches,
retarders, and signal equipment. In operation, rail cars
will be pushed up and over the hump and roll downhill
to a designated track. Bellevue hopes to double the
600 to 650 cars it now humps on average per shift.
“We’re in the business of trying to take time out of
traffic, and the more we can speed the customers’
shipments, the better it is for us and the customer,”
LeStrange said. “From a transportation standpoint,
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
the sooner we can complete this project the better.
Norfolk Southern and our customers would realize
immediate efficiencies if it were open today.”
NS’ communications & signals department will
install more than 140 power switches, upgrade
11 control points, and add equipment such as car
retarders, wheel detectors, and distance-to-coupling
circuits, said Tony Grim, NS assistant chief engineer
signals and electrical design. “Every piece of this should
help out with the efficiency, fluidity, and movements
in and around the yard,” he said.
The computer-based C&S system will track cars
by commodity and route them to proper classification
tracks after weighing and measuring them. Included
in the system is a weather station to detect wind
speed and weather conditions to help determine
proper car speed to get them to the appropriate track.
While it won’t be the largest hump yard in North
America – that is Union Pacific’s Bailey Yard in North
Platte, Neb. – Bellevue will be the largest yard where
all tracks are humped from one process control system,
said Paul Johnson, NS control systems engineer.
Careful analysis involved
A key NS performer
NS used powerful modeling tools to inform its
decision to expand Bellevue, including Delphi, used
by the marketing department to forecast business.
NS’ market research and economics group manages
Delphi, feeding into it information supplied by
customers to project growth in car volumes.
With Delphi’s help, planners in NS’ network and
service management department saw that much of
the railroad’s growth would be occurring around
Bellevue. The planners fed those projections into NS’
Operating Plan Developer, a modeling tool developed
by NS’ operations research and network and service
management and used to determine such things as
locomotive, human resource, and infrastructure needs.
“It became clear that we didn’t have enough
switching capacity in the North to accommodate the
growth, and that Bellevue is in the perfect location to
handle it,” said Fred Ehlers, vice president network
and service management.
NS’ finance department ran cost-benefit studies
to ensure the expansion made economic sense, said
Marta Stewart, NS vice president and treasurer.
“We try to allocate our capital dollars very rigorously
to the highest return projects,” Stewart said. “We get
at least twice as many capital projects than end up
getting approved, so we have to closely scrutinize them
to winnow them down to the best ones.”
The analysis involved looking at costs associated
with running trains through NS yards in Elkhart, Ind.,
currently NS’ largest hump yard, Conway, Pa., and
Bellevue, which form a triangle across the Northern
Region. Bellevue offered NS ways to reduce operating
costs and enhance customer service, Stewart said.
NS already is experiencing improved traffic flow after
reconfiguring and adding more capacity to the yard’s
interlocking system, a “phase 1” project completed last
fall. Known as the “mini plant,” the interlocking is an
interchange where trains enter and leave the yard.
The engineering improvements enabled NS to more than
double train speed through it, to 25 mph from 10 mph,
boosting efficiency and service.
Bellevue, midway between Toledo and Cleveland, is
located at the confluence of several major NS east-west
and north-south lines. Many trains are routed between
the Lake and Dearborn divisions at the interchange.
Also, many intermodal trains operating on NS’ Heartland
Corridor between Virginia’s ports and Chicago pass
through Bellevue.
“We have trains starting out of here that could go
anywhere on our system, really,” said Jonathan Elswick,
terminal superintendent. “In terms of train performance
metrics, we’re a big driver of NS’ numbers.”
Benefits extend beyond NS. The Bellevue region has
lost manufacturing and other employers over the past
decade, and the city of around 8,000 is abuzz over the
prospect of jobs and economic growth from NS’ investment.
Currently, the terminal employs around 650 people.
“The railroad is a major employer and pretty much
the heart and soul of Bellevue, so this project will have
a huge impact,” Elswick said.
Bob Siesel, a Bellevue yardmaster, said he’s proud
to be a part of the expansion. He was born and raised in
Bellevue and has been with the railroad since 1978,
starting when N&W operated the yard.
“Over the years when NS has had an increase in business
or overflow traffic, they’ve always felt confident to bring
it to Bellevue to get it moved, and I think this reflects on
their confidence in the workers here,” Siesel said.
“The workforce here is second to none,” said
Rick Vickrey, assistant terminal superintendent.
“I think our company’s leaders have identified this as
a place that’s safe to spend money on to get more
productivity out of the system.” n BizNS
n left: The interchange at Bellevue yard, known as the mini plant,
was improved in a project completed last fall, enabling NS to more than
double the speed of trains moving through it.
11
Future Track Status Report
Here’s a thumbnail look at some of the key Future Track initiatives.
Unified Train Control System/Movement Planner
UTCS, a next-generation dispatching system, is on seven of NS’ 11 divisions.
It is scheduled to be installed this year on the Dearborn, Lake, and Illinois
divisions, and on the Pocahontas in 2013. Movement Planner is expected to
be running at full capacity on the Georgia, Alabama, and Central divisions
by end of this year.
Process Control Implementation
This initiative is automating the rail car classification process at NS hump
yards, including car speed, spacing, and switch positions. Five of eight yards
are completed, with testing planned at Sheffield, Linwood, and Knoxville.
Geographic Information System
Aerial mapping of NS’ rail network is complete, and integration with various
NS systems is in development. The GPS-based mapping will enable NS to
pinpoint the location of every piece of infrastructure on the network, including
sidings, switches, and signals.
Locomotive Engineer Assist Display Event Recorder
LEADER prompts engineers on optimal train handling to achieve maximum fuel
efficiency and on-time performance. To date, around 900 road locomotives
have been equipped with the GPS-based computer display. LEADER-equipped
locomotives are running on the Northern Region’s main line between Chicago
and New Jersey and are expected to begin running on the CNO & TP line
between Chicago and Atlanta later this year.
Top-of-Rail Friction Modification
These solar-powered systems dispense a lubricant to the top of both rails to
lower wheel-to-rail friction, reducing wear and tear on wheels and rail and
conserving energy. They are operating on 16 strategic lines located on or
between 10 divisions.
Remote Intelligent Terminal
This wireless technology enables conductors to use a handheld device to send
and receive work assignments in near real-time. More than 500 of the RIT
devices have been deployed.
Remote Control Locomotives
This remote technology enables a ground operator to control a locomotive via
radio signals to an onboard computer. To date, RCL is installed on 188 locomotives
in yards around the system, and 1,082 employees are certified RCL operators.
Wayside Detection Systems
These remote systems monitor passing trains for wheel defects, and NS now
has a 24-hour help desk monitoring preventive wheel alerts. This year, NS will
implement alerts for dragging equipment devices.
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BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
RIT: Milestone for
By the end of 2012, Norfolk Southern expects to complete its rollout of Remote
Intelligent Terminal, improving work conditions for local conductors and marking
a major success for Future Track.
Train crews who handle rail car deliveries to industry and transfer
freight cars to interline rail partners at interchanges use the wireless,
GPS-based device to receive and transmit work orders to spot, place,
and pull cars.
NS began developing RIT in 2009, assembling a group of about
30 conductors to help perfect the new technology and then to train
co-workers systemwide on how to use the rugged hand-held device.
One of those selected was Brad Baker, a conductor working the
former Alabama Great Southern line between Birmingham, Ala.,
and Meridian, Miss.
During RIT’s development, Baker and the other conductors
worked in Atlanta with Microsoft programmers, who wrote the
operating software.
n TOP: Conductor trainer Brad Baker,
“They wanted input from conductors to make it user friendly,” Baker said.
right, works with Dan Kelly, engineer,
“We stayed in Atlanta for several weeks doing testing and trial and error, adding
and Brandon Mayer, conductor, in
stuff and taking stuff away.”
Sharonville, Ohio, on use of the Remote
During initial field testing in Mobile, Ala., the conductors used RIT alongside
Intelligent Terminal device.
train crews who continued to handle work orders by paper and fax machines.
That testing helped identify bugs that needed fixing before going live.
n ABOVE: Brad Baker shows the RIT
“In my opinion, RIT is a great capability and something big for Norfolk Southern,
screen to Dan Kelly.
and I’m glad to have my name associated with it,” Baker said. “It makes life easier
for conductors and it helps our customers out, which is a good thing because the
customers are the ones that keep us going and keep the cash flowing.”
“RIT is a great capability and
Customers can order and release freight cars electronically through
NS’ Pacesetter, which is automatically transmitted to the RIT devices,
something big for Norfolk Southern,
putting information at a conductor’s fingertips.
and I’m glad to have my name
Conductors report their work activity on RIT by clicking on car icons
and “dragging” them to the track where they were delivered. To transmit associated with it.”
a completed job order to the Operations and Service Support Center in
Atlanta, they simply click a “work complete” box.
— Brad Baker, conductor
“It’s more or less a point-and-click operation, and it’s so much easier
than filling out paperwork,” Baker said. “I used to hate having to go back to the
yard office at the end of the day to fill out the paperwork, especially in the summer,
when you’re soaking wet and trying to keep your papers clean so you could get
them in the fax machine.”
13
n Conductor A.J. Rogers Jr. , in right
photo, uses a Remote Intelligent Terminal
at Bellevue Terminal as he prepares to
leave on his local L-20 job, which works
six industries in Huron, Ohio. At top,
Rogers reviews the cars he and engineer
Wade Adkins will deliver to one of
the industries. Above, Rogers lifts the
RIT from its charging cradle in Bellevue’s
crew room.
14
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
RIT also streamlines work for employees in the OSS center. With rail car
information arriving electronically from train crews and customers, they no longer
have to manually type information off paper reports into the computer system.
That has improved accuracy and timeliness.
“We’re getting huge productivity gains,” said Brad Fitzgerald, director OSS.
Another major benefit is improved asset utilization. “We have the data to show
that RIT is helping us turn our rail cars quicker and get them back out on trains for
reuse, so we need fewer cars to do the same amount of work,” Fitzgerald said.
Most conductors are able to use RIT without assistance after about three days
of training. During a training session in Knoxville last year, Baker worked with a
conductor near retirement who was “scared to death” of RIT. After a night using
it, however, the conductor had warmed to it.
“He was like, ‘This isn’t that hard,’ ” Baker said. “A little coaching goes a long
way on this.” n BizNS
For safety and operations,
a culture change at NS
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about Norfolk Southern’s safety and service initiative, launched
in January to bring positive change to the railroad’s safety and operating culture. In this story, BizNS examines
why NS is undertaking this effort. Future stories will highlight how the initiative is being carried out.
A cultural shift is under way at Norfolk Southern.
The rail industry’s Harriman Gold Medal Award, which defined safety success at NS
for more than two decades, is going away. Local operations committees who promote
safety across NS are expanding their focus to include service. Operations supervisors
are receiving training in conflict resolution and problem-solving and focusing more on
recognizing good performance.
That’s just for starters. All across the railroad, teams of employees are brainstorming
ways to improve operations as part of a multi-year initiative to transform NS’ safety
and operating culture.
The goal is to create a workplace where safety, customer service, and productivity
are in alignment.
“In some ways, I can’t think of a more important initiative that we have right now,”
CEO Wick Moorman said. “If we can go out and get our operating division employees
more aligned with the things we want to accomplish as a company, we will do great
things. Those folks, at the end of the day, are the ones who know how to do it.”
Creating a positive atmosphere
Leading the initiative is Mark Manion, executive vice president and chief operating
officer. Manion says it will build on improvements made in company culture since NS
adopted the SPIRIT values in 2007 that emphasize safety, performance, integrity,
respect, innovation, and teamwork.
“The SPIRIT values have moved things in the right direction, but we’ve been concerned
that in some cases, we haven’t moved as positively as we’d like to,” Manion said.
How effective NS is in driving positive change with this new initiative will depend
in large part on senior managers, their lieutenants, and frontline supervisors. At a
gathering in mid-February with about 80 members of his senior operating group, Manion
said the key is building better working relationships with the company’s approximately
25,000 agreement employees.
“Over time, we want to build a group of supervisors who will create a positive
atmosphere through the way they lead, interact, and communicate with their people,”
he told the group. “This is about effective supervision that is eye-to-eye, talking to
your people about the important things, and getting to know them.
safety
customer service
productivity
15
“If I’m an assistant trainmaster,” he said, “it means I’m helping my people be
as good as they can be. I’m listening to what their issues are, and I’m fixing them.
I’m conducting myself in a way that doesn’t turn people off when I’m critical of
something that’s going on. It takes skill. It takes work. In addition to training and
education, it takes putting boots on the ground and being out there, just walking
around spending time with your people without any particular agenda.”
Employee email planted a seed
n ABOVE: David Julian, vice
president safety and environmental,
notes that safety remains Norfolk
Southern’s No. 1 priority.
n FAR RIGHT: Mike Wheeler, vice
president transportation, at right,
and Mark Manion, executive vice
president and chief operating officer,
next to Wheeler, greet employees
during the company’s first Blue
Ribbon Special run, held last fall to
recognize employees for their safety
and service.
16
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
It’s not just about supervisors, however. Agreement employees in transportation,
mechanical, and engineering are contributing ideas and already are leading
discussions on their newly named safety and service committees about ways
to improve their service performance.
In fact, if individual employees think they can’t make a difference, consider this:
An “Ask Wick” question emailed in November 2010 by Robert Garland, an
agreement yardmaster who works in Asheville, N.C., helped spark the changes
now under way, Manion said. Moorman several years ago started fielding employee
questions on “Wick’s Page,” a virtual forum meant to enhance communication
with employees.
In his email, Garland raised questions about NS’ safety process, and said the
company should consider adopting a behavior-based safety program. Such programs
emphasize positive reinforcement to build good safety behavior, focus on the
underlying reasons why people act in unsafe ways, and attempt to change at-risk
behavior without confrontation or threats of punishment.
After discussing Garland’s email and their own interests in a behavior-based
approach, Moorman and Manion agreed he was on to something. As a result,
NS in 2011 hired Aubrey Daniels International Inc., a consulting firm specializing in
behavior-based programs that improve business performance. Asked to review the
railroad’s safety processes, ADI visited eight operating locations to observe and
talk with employees and distributed a written survey to employees systemwide.
NS leaders were surprised at the number of employees who held negative views
of the company’s approach to safety. Some called it too heavy-handed in trying to
enforce safe behavior, while others perceived that supervisors focused too much on
trying to catch employees violating a safety or operating rule.
“It was breathtaking that so many people told us that we could do better,”
Moorman said. “These weren’t people ranting; this was thoughtful, coming from
people all over the railroad who cared enough to tell us what they think.”
Garland, who hired on as a conductor in 2003, said he’s excited that NS is moving
forward with the initiative.
“It feels good that the company is looking at how we get around this negative
perception of the safety process, because it really is something that protects you
and is to everybody’s benefit,” Garland said. “It demonstrates that the leadership
is paying attention and wants to make things better.”
Good time for a change
Doing away with the current Harriman program reflects
NS’ commitment to change. NS has won the safety award
for 22 consecutive years and is poised to make it 23 at the
final awards ceremony in May for safety performance in
2011. The award has become identified with NS, giving
the company bragging rights as the safest Class 1 railroad
in North America.
The ADI survey, however, revealed that employees
did not view the competition as contributing to a good
work environment.
“ADI did not get a single positive comment from anyone about the Harriman
Award,” Manion said. “It served us well in the past, and no doubt was helpful in
reducing the number of injuries that occurred around the system, but it has gotten
to the point where we think it’s no longer helpful.”
The other Class 1 railroads that competed for the Harriman agreed with NS.
The railroads now are discussing ideas to replace the competition with a recognition
ceremony of some kind that emphasizes teamwork and best safety practices, Manion
said. It will not be based on which railroad has the least number of injuries.
Given the railroad’s accomplishments in 2011, some may wonder why NS leaders
see the need for change. The company shined financially, with record operating revenue
and earnings per share, and the workforce had its best ever safety performance.
“That confirms only that we are doing things that are effective in keeping the
environment safe; it doesn’t confirm that we’re doing it in the best way, where
employees have the working environment they desire,” said David Julian, vice
president safety and environmental. “We’ve got an opportunity now for about 25,000
agreement employees to become more engaged in safety in a positive way.”
Expanding the focus of safety committees to include service does not mean NS will
compromise its commitment to safety, Julian said.
“Safety remains No. 1,” he said. “You have to have a safe working environment
to operate efficiently and productively. Safety and service go hand in hand.”
Coming off the successes of 2011 is a good time to make changes for the better,
Manion said.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum behind the operation,” he said. “I don’t recall a time
when we had the pipeline loaded up with so many meaningful technological and
process improvements in transportation, mechanical, and engineering.
“I see more and more enthusiasm from the guy at the throttle, from the person in
the shop, from the person out on the tracks about where the company is going,” he
added. “When you see all the things going on, you can’t help but feel good about this
company and where we’re heading.” n BizNS
“If we can go out and get our
operating division employees
more aligned with the things
we want to accomplish as a
company, we will do great
things. Those folks, at the end
of the day, are the ones who
know how to do it.”
— CEO Wick Moorman
17
Outlook 2012
Stepping up
Norfolk Southern’s game
n TOP: A Dash 9 40CW locomotive leads
a unit grain train of covered hoppers as
it moves through Oakvale, W.Va.
n ABOVE: A coal ship is loaded with
export metallurgical coal at Pier 6 at
Lamberts Point in Norfolk.
18
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
For NS employees, 2012 will be a year of change as the company moves to improve
customer service and refocus on safety.
Key strategic issues facing NS include growing traffic volumes and reducing
operating costs, CEO Wick Moorman told managers at this year’s general
management meeting.
“We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us, and our company is very well-positioned,
but there are challenges and a lot of work to be done,” Moorman said at the Roanoke
gathering. “If we’re going to make this company even better, we’ve all got to raise
the level of our game.”
A safety record
Held every February, the meeting of top level managers focuses on the past year’s
performance and business outlook for the year ahead.
In 2011, the “single greatest accomplishment,” Moorman said, may have been the
workforce’s safety performance – a best ever 0.75 injury ratio based on reportable
injuries per 200,000 employee hours. It met the corporate goal of 0.75 and was a
16 percent improvement over the 2010 record-setting ratio of 0.89.
“It is a remarkable tribute to everyone who works
in this company, but particularly to our operating
department,” Moorman said.
Also in 2011, NS led the rail industry in volume
gains with 5 percent overall growth, matched the
trucking industry’s percentage gains in tonnage,
and had a “truly terrific” financial performance,
outperforming Wall Street’s expectations.
NS’ service levels, dogged by bad winter storms
and flooding, faced challenges in 2011, and Moorman
said the railroad must do a better job this year to
meet customer needs.
“We’re a service company, and we’ve got to get
that right,” Moorman said.
NS’ operating divisions started 2012 in stellar
fashion, exceeding most of the company’s service
metric goals for train-related performance. The
improvements are attributed in part to NS’ move
during 2010 and 2011 to hire additional train and
engine crews as the improving economy generated
more business volume. The company also is beginning
to see benefits from its rollout of new technology to
improve workforce productivity, such as Remote
Intelligent Terminal and the Unified Train Control
System. In 2012, NS plans to hire additional
employees in engineering and mechanical to focus
on service improvement.
A lot riding on coal
A concern in 2012 is NS’ coal business, currently the
railroad’s single largest source of revenue, at about
31 percent in 2011. Domestic utility coal, comprising
about 70 percent of NS’ coal business, is under
pressure from a mild winter, low-priced natural gas,
and federal environmental regulations that are driving
up operating costs of coal-fired utility plants.
“It is going to be a challenging year,” said
Danny Smith, senior vice president energy
and properties.
The brightest prospects for coal are the export,
domestic metallurgical, and industrial markets.
Improving U.S. steel demand is expected to generate
higher volumes of domestic met coal this year, while
demand for the high quality export met coal NS delivers
continues in Europe, Asia, and South America. Rising
world demand for utility coal is creating new
opportunities for exporting thermal coal, while NS’ rail
connections to new coal sources in the Illinois Basin are
opening doors for both domestic and export utility coal.
Despite headwinds this year, especially from
mild weather, Smith said he remains bullish on NS’
domestic utility coal network. NS currently serves
more than 100 U.S. power plants. About 70 percent
already are equipped with scrubbers to meet federal
air emissions standards and should continue to buy
NS-supplied coal well into the future.
“In the longer term,” Smith said, “we’ve got a lot
of projects coming on line, and I think we can turn
it around.”
Star performers
In 2011, intermodal and automotive were NS’ star
performers in volume growth. Overall, NS intermodal
volume grew by 10 percent, while domestic intermodal
led the industry with a 15 percent increase. Automotive
volumes rose 14 percent, sparked by new business and
rising auto sales.
This year will be historic for intermodal, said
Mike McClellan, vice president intermodal and
automotive marketing. After nearly 15 years in
development, construction of all of NS’ primary
intermodal corridors will be substantially completed,
including the Crescent, Heartland, Meridian Speedway,
and Pan Am Southern. New intermodal terminals will
open this year on the Crescent and Pan Am Southern,
adding capacity, improving network efficiencies, and
boosting NS’ competitive edge over long-haul trucking.
19
“It is a big year for us and will be the most
transformative in terms of the network that we’ve
seen since Conrail,” McClellan said, referring to NS’
partial acquisition of Conrail assets in 1999.
Shippers generating volume growth for NS
intermodal, such as Wal-Mart, Kellogg Co., Kraft,
and other big-box retailers, increasingly are moving
cargo from the highway to rail, which is greener and
cost efficient, he said.
Friday Freight a key
n above: An NS double-stack intermodal
train, right, traveling on the Heartland
Corridor passes an NS train hauling
automobiles near Bluefield, W.Va.
20
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
NS’ “Friday Freight” initiative, aimed at securing
additional business beyond the budget, continued to
shine in 2011, adding $771 million of new business,
said Don Seale, executive vice president and chief marketing officer. About 30
percent was freight NS converted from the highway or won from other
transportation providers. The other 70 percent was new business that Seale said is
a good indicator of the growing role rail transportation is playing across NS’
service network.
Friday Freight will be a key to the railroad’s financial performance in 2012, Seale
added. To support the effort, NS’ industrial products group set a goal for field sales
people to generate $1 million of new business a month, part of an initiative dubbed
“One a Month” that the marketing division launched this year.
Domestic ethanol should be a strong contributor to NS’ agriculture business, said
David Lawson, vice president industrial products. NS transports about 16 percent
of U.S.-produced ethanol supplies and expects to benefit from new terminal
development and competitive network advantages.
“Through a lot of good work from our industrial development group, we expect
to have four new ethanol terminals opened in 2012,” Lawson said.
In NS’ chemical market, crude oil and waste products are expected to spur growth,
while Marcellus Shale gas-drilling activity will remain a strong growth market for
metals and construction, Lawson said. A slow-recovering housing market continues
to challenge the company’s paper, clay, and forest products group. n BizNS
Learning to run
with Synergy
“SAP is different from anything we have ever done
before,” she said. “We knew the old system, and we
were comfortable with it. Now we must take the time
required to learn the new technology and processes
that are not comfortable. We will not be able to run
with SAP until we first learn to crawl.”
In January, Norfolk Southern rolled into the brave
System improvements that SAP has enabled reflect
new world of Synergy, undergoing what CEO
its promise. For example, SAP allows diesel fuel
Wick Moorman has described as the business
suppliers to send NS buyers in mechanical and
equivalent of a heart and lung transplant.
transportation an advance electronic shipping notice
While not painless, the good news is that NS
before delivery, stating amount of fuel purchased and
survived the operation. The company’s information
other details. Before, NS buyers received only a
systems are stable, and improvement is occurring daily.
handwritten paper ticket at delivery, and then had to
The Synergy project involved replacing
manually type details into NS’ information system,
more than 40 computer-based
a time-consuming process with room for error.
legacy applications within
“They still get the paper ticket, but
human resources, material
now all they have to do is verify the
management, finance, and
information with the electronic form,”
accounting with a new
Catron said.
Employees with questions
enterprise resource planning
In another improvement, SAP
about using SAP can visit an
software known as SAP.
has replaced the former material
NS SharePoint site at
“We find ourselves going
requisition process with interactive
http://connection.nscorp.com/
through some bumps, but
“shopping
carts,” a modern process
corpres/synergy
overall we’ve conducted
akin to shopping online. In addition,
business without any major
SAP offers enhanced “punch out”
disruptions, which was our
catalogues of preferred NS vendors showing
No. 1 goal,” said Ben Chapman,
pictures of many standard inventory items that
NS assistant vice president SAP integration,
have a pre-negotiated price. In another instance,
speaking to NS managers at the general management
purchase card transactions are loaded daily in SAP
meeting in February. “As things settle down over the
as opposed to monthly under the former system,
next few months, we’ll look back on where we were
providing managers with more timely oversight of
in January and February and the things that seemed
purchasing activity.
awkward and strange to us then will be second nature.”
To take full advantage of SAP’s capabilities,
For the most part, the “bumps” in Synergy’s launch
NS has formed the Synergy Center, staffed by a
have involved user understanding and training issues
mix of business and technology employees at NS.
rather than system problems, said Lynnanne Catron,
The center will work with departments to expand
director SAP integration. Those issues will decline as
SAP applications.
people become more familiar with performing work
“There is real power in SAP,” Catron said.
processes using SAP, Catron added.
“We have laid a foundation upon which we can
now grow.” n BizNS
21
NS builds a thriving
‘virtual’ community
In an email sent to Norfolk Southern’s Facebook page, the son
n TOP: Norfolk Southern’s New
Media Team last year debuted a
mobile app, giving iPhone and Droid
users online access to NS news,
information, and images.
n ABOVE: Via online tweets and
posts on NS’ Facebook page,
Stacey Parker, manager
community outreach, kept the
public in the loop during a photo
shoot of locomotives in Roanoke to
commemorate the railroad’s 30th
anniversary later this year.
22
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
of a retired Norfolk Southern employee shared a personal story
with Stacey Parker, NS manager community outreach. His
father recently had died, he wrote, and as the funeral procession
left for the cemetery, an NS train on a nearby track blew its
whistle and began moving, like a symbolic escort.
“I know that it was purely a coincidence, but everyone was moved by it,” he wrote.
“Now I will hear a whistle and think that his escort is calling.”
Parker, who manages the Facebook site, credits that email and others like it
to NS’ use of social media to engage the public in ways never before possible.
“If we didn’t create on Facebook a sense that we’re listening, he never would
have reached out,” she said.
Two years after entering the world of social media, NS has built a significant
online presence. Nearly 20,000 people are fans of the company’s Facebook page,
and nearly 3,300 follow NS on Twitter. Some of the railroad’s 75 videos posted on
YouTube have generated more than 170,000 views.
“Norfolk Southern is a rail industry leader in social media,” said Rick Harris,
director corporate communications. “We’ve been among the most creative and
imaginative in engaging with audiences.”
From Facebook posts chronicling travels aboard NS trains to YouTube videos
highlighting performances by NS’ Lawmen band, the railroad’s Internet
communications go well beyond news releases and announcements.
“We want people to know who we are,” said
Parker, whose position was created in 2010 in part
to manage NS’ social media. “We’re not just some
Fortune 500 company. We live in your communities,
eat at the restaurants, and pay taxes.”
NS’ online communities help form personal
connections and rally public support. For example,
NS uses Facebook and other social networking sites
to post information about proposed legislation
affecting the industry. In response to one recent
posting, more than 2,000 NS employees and Facebook
fans visited NS’ Legislative Action Center’s website,
where they could send letters to members of Congress
opposing a bill to allow heavier, longer trucks on the
nation’s highways. Their action helped lead to changes
supported by the rail industry.
“It demonstrates how social media can be used to
mobilize people around an issue we care about and
reach an audience that’s willing to demonstrate support
for our industry,” Harris noted.
Brave new world
Harris chairs NS’ New Media Team, formed in 2008
to guide the company through the then unchartered
world of social media. The diverse team, representing
more than a dozen departments, in 2009 developed
the NS Social Computing Guidelines to help employees
avoid online communications minefields that could
harm co-workers or the railroad. The guidelines apply
to all forms of social media, from Facebook and YouTube
to blogs and chat rooms.
“It’s difficult to guard against risk when there are no
rules out there,” said Joseph H. Carpenter, general
attorney and e-discovery counsel.
Carpenter, a New Media Team member, was among
the most cautious when NS became involved in social
media. “The legal landscape was still very much
developing, and we as a company had not thought
through all the ramifications,” he said. “Now, the
risks are better defined, and best practices have been
established across corporate America.”
Since then, NS has expanded online offerings. Last
year, New Media Team members launched VisioNS,
an in-house version of YouTube that delivers company
videos to employees’ computers, including quarterly
updates from CEO Wick Moorman, and assisted with
development of the company’s first mobile app. The app
gives iPhone and Droid users access to NS’ latest news,
stock information, and images. The railroad’s advertising
firm, RP3 Agency, created the app, which was inspired
by Parker and Larry Cox, assistant manager mail
service and NS form administrator.
As NS has become more educated and entrenched
in social media, the New Media Team recently
decided it was time to update the company’s social
computing guidelines. In the most significant change,
employees no longer are prohibited from identifying
their relationship to NS in social media postings.
Allowing employees to reference their NS connection
online recognizes that they are the company’s best
ambassadors, Parker said.
Harris said the revisions reflect NS’ increased
acceptance of social media as a communications tool.
“We still have guidelines,” he said, “to help
employees understand that while there are freedoms
associated with social media, there are responsibilities
as well. If you exercise common sense and are
responsible about using social media, you shouldn’t
run into any problems.”
Employees who identify their NS connection should
make clear that they are not speaking for the railroad,
Harris said.
Creating a dialogue
When NS launched its social media operations, it was
the only railroad that allowed fans to start online
conversations – both positive and negative. Parker
says allowing that open dialogue has created goodwill
among NS’ followers and contributed to the company’s
popularity on Facebook.
“A lot of times if people say something negative, at
least 10 people will defend us because we’ve already
established a relationship with them,” Parker said.
23
Giving up control, however, does carry risks.
“In a traditional media setting, you control the
message,” Harris said. “In a social media setting, you
give up some of that control because everybody is
free to comment. It enables you to get a sense of what
the public is saying about you and enables you to
respond to that.”
As social media expands, NS will continue to
tread carefully, only entering forums that interest
fans and benefit the company. Carpenter continues
to advise prudence.
“The biggest problem now is the casual nature of
social media,” he said. “A lot of times, people do not
understand the permanence of any posted content,
and you cannot control your audience. Don’t post
about pending deals, or make critical comments
regarding your boss. Those are not appropriate
forums to vent personal frustrations about work.”
Now tweetable: ‘I work at NS’
Below are excerpts from the revised social computing
guidelines that enable employees to associate
themselves online with NS. To visit the full guidelines,
visit http://ethics.nscorp.com and click the Policies tab.
The company recognizes the pride employees have
in their affiliation with Norfolk Southern and gives
employees license to share publicly their association
with NS via social media. Examples of acceptable
public references in addition to work affiliation include
participation in NS-sponsored or industry meetings,
and activities sponsored by company programs such
as Thoroughbred Volunteers or WellNS.
To protect yourself and NS, you should never:
• Disclose nonpublic information about the
company, including legal matters, litigation,
or NS’ financial performance
• Engage in any activities that could result in
a copyright infringement claim
• Use social media to evaluate the performance
of co-workers, business partners, or vendors.
• Identify by name, criticize, or complain about
customers, partners, or suppliers.
• Discuss or reference NS policies, procedures,
or programs that are not publicly available on
the internet.
24
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
One NS Facebook follower learned the hard way.
Confident that his identity would not be discovered,
a 15-year-old recently boasted on the railroad’s
Facebook page that he had thrown a switch at a
Virginia port terminal, an action that could derail
a train. Parker saw the post and notified NS police,
who tracked the teenager down using information that
Parker provided from his Facebook profile. The teen
was charged with a felony. Their efforts netted Parker
and NS special agents James Aspatore, Alvin
Dayday, and Rodney Spencer a 2011 Spirit Award.
Though rare, incidents like that drive home the point
that everyone should be careful when posting online.
“Think about how your co-worker or supervisor would
view it,” Parker said. “If you’re going to say you’re
part of NS, you should be respectful of that.” n BizNS
Below is a Q&A excerpt from
NS’ code of ethics on blogs:
Q: I would like to post some information to an online
bulletin board with postings on the railroad
industry. I really think I have a lot to add to the
discussion. Is this allowed?
A: To an extent, yes, but be careful. Employees should
not use online bulletin boards, blogs, or chat
forums to discuss Norfolk Southern business. If you
mention the company, limit your comment to basic
facts that you know are publicly available on our
websites or in nonconfidential printed publications
that already have been distributed to general
audiences outside the company, and be sure to
include a disclaimer, such as: “I am not an official
spokesperson for NS, but my personal opinion is...”
As an employee, you may have information that has
not been publicly released. Unless you are an official
company spokesperson, you never should disclose
nonpublic information.
n left: Kevin Westover,
storehouse clerk at Juniata
Locomotive Shop, prepares
to shoot while playing in a
basketball tourney Juniata
employees organized last year
as part of Power Train. In photo
below, Adam Pierannunzio,
storehouse clerk, shoots over
Brandon Boone, material
foreman, as Bill King , lead
machinist gang leader, watches.
Power Train:
Staying fit and building
community
Wearing blue jerseys emblazoned with the NS logo, more than 100 bicyclists
energetically pedaled through Chesapeake, Va., and northeastern North Carolina
last spring. These Norfolk Southern employees, families, and friends were doing
more than promoting personal health and fitness: With the railroad’s backing, they
were raising money for the American Diabetes Association as part of the nonprofit’s
Tour de Cure cycling event.
Group activities that combine physical fitness and charitable giving are the basis
of Power Train, a program NS unveiled in 2011. The WellNS promotion challenges
employees to form teams of at least 10 co-workers for participating in physical
activities such as 5K walks, cycling rides, and dance-offs benefitting a diseasebased charity.
As incentive, NS donates $1,000 to the qualifying nonprofits on behalf of teams
that train for and complete an event. Last year, 20 employee groups across
NS’ system formed Power Train teams to support organizations such as the
American Cancer Society, Autism Speaks, and the March of Dimes.
Employee response has been enthusiastic, prompting NS this year to
increase funding to support 50 Power Train teams and qualifying charities.
“It’s a great opportunity for Norfolk Southern to get out into the
community,” said Mary Pitman, NS health promotions manager. “For a
lot of those events, we make a huge difference in their fund-raising goal.”
25
n Colin Barton, assistant vice president corporate accounting, has
been top fund raiser among Norfolk cyclists participating in the Tour de Cure
ride. Last year, NS cyclists in Norfolk, Atlanta, and New York raised approximately
$120,000, ranking 11th among the top 100 fund-raising teams in the U.S.
Right thing to do
Supporting the communities that NS serves is the
right thing to do, said Kevin Stacy, division office
manager, transportation operations, in Fort Wayne,
Ind. Stacy helped organize a Power Train team last
year that raised $1,675 for juvenile diabetes. About
30 NS employees and their families took part.
“Any type of things that support kids in the community
we try to do,” Stacy said. “It shows that Norfolk
Southern is active in the Fort Wayne community.”
For the past three years, Fort Wayne employees
have participated in a “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes”
event, raising money for the Fort Wayne Women’s
Bureau to combat domestic violence.
Along with supporting charities, Power Train
activities enhance NS’ wellness initiatives. In
Tennessee, 16 employees and five of their spouses
prepared for a 5K run for cystic fibrosis research in
Cleveland, Tenn., in March.
“One of the employees read about it and
suggested we do it as part of our WellNS program,”
said Joan Murphey, machinist at Chattanooga
locomotive shop. “Several of the guys in the shop are
marathon runners, and they planned to run together.”
The 5k is the group’s first Power Train activity, but
they plan to participate in other charitable events as
part of a yearly wellness challenge. “We try to keep
people exercising and living healthier lifestyles,”
Murphey said.
Fitness for a cause
Power Train evolved from NS employees’ involvement
in the Tour de Cure in Virginia. Participation has
increased significantly since Karin Stamy, general
attorney law, rounded up three co-workers in Norfolk
to ride in 2006. Since then, CEO Wick Moorman,
Mark Manion, executive vice president and chief
operating officer, John Rathbone, executive vice
president administration, and James Hixon,
executive vice president law and corporate relations,
have biked on the NS team.
26
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
Last year, about 80 NS employees in Norfolk, joined
by more than 20 family members and friends, formed
the company’s largest Power Train team in the program’s
inaugural year. In 2012, the Power Train team hopes
to attract 125 riders and raise $80,000 during the Tour
de Cure ride in April.
NS also has sponsored Tour de Cure teams in Atlanta,
Harrisburg, and upstate New York. The cycling event
dovetails nicely with Power Train’s goals, Stamy said.
“The beauty of Power Train is that it’s a way for the
company to support a charity and the wellness of
individuals,” she said.
A personal connection
Long before NS launched Power Train, Lisa Holloman,
assistant to NS’ executive vice president planning and
chief information officer, was enlisting colleagues to
join her in Walk MS, benefitting the National Multiple
Sclerosis Society. Holloman began participating more
than a decade ago after being diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis.
“I wanted to give something of myself to help find
a cure,” she said. A disease of the central nervous
system, MS most often strikes people between the
ages of 20 and 50. “It affects people differently, but
it’s a definite change in your lifestyle,” she said.
With Power Train’s backing, 14 co-workers joined
Holloman and family members for the Virginia Beach,
Va., walk last year. After that walk, Holloman, who
serves on the local Walk MS committee, formed
another Power Train team for the first Walk MS along
the Elizabeth River, starting near NS’ downtown
Norfolk headquarters.
NS and community pulling together
By design, Power Train teams must participate in a formally organized event. “I wanted
people to learn more about an organization and prepare through training,” Pitman said.
Going the extra mile, employees at Juniata Locomotive Shop in Altoona, Pa.,
created their own event last year. They set up and played in a basketball tournament
to benefit Autism Speaks, a national charity that funds research into the causes,
treatments, and prevention of autism, a developmental disorder.
Lead machinist gang leader William King, coach of his daughter’s elementary
school basketball team, came up with the idea after the son of his daughter’s
teacher was diagnosed with autism. King recruited co-workers to form teams.
“The Power Train program was a catalyst,” he said. “It was a perfect opportunity
to help the teacher’s family and to raise money for a good cause. With everybody
chipping in, it fell into place.”
Co-worker Tommy Williams, storehouse clerk, helped recruit enough NS
employees to fill two teams, while teachers and coaches at the elementary school
formed two additional teams. The school provided its gymnasium, community
volunteers served as referees, and area businesses contributed goods and services
for door prizes and raffles.
The tournament attracted nearly 200 spectators and raised more than $2,100
for Autism Speaks. Buoyed by the success, King and his NS teammates are planning
a bigger 2012 “Shoot for the Cause” tournament.
King gives special credit to NS for implementing the innovative Power Train program.
“It makes me proud to work for the company,” he said. “My wife and I always
wanted to help in a charity, and Power Train opened doors.” n BizNS
“It makes me proud to
work for the company.
My wife and I always
wanted to help in a
charity, and Power Train
opened doors.”
— William King,
machinist, Juniata
Locomotive Shop
n NS cyclists, including CEO
Wick Moorman, who work in
Norfolk ride on a Power Train team
in the 2011 Tour de Cure event.
27
TI
‘Courage, truth, and manhood:’
The NS Titanic Connection
n ABOVE: John Borland Thayer,
an officer of the Pennsylvania
Railroad and board member of
Norfolk & Western Railway, perished
on the Titanic.
Photography Collection, Miriam and Ira
D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and
Photographs, The New York Public Library,
Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations
n RIGHT: A telegram in NS archives
informs N&W officials that John
Borland Thayer was not among
survivors rescued by RMS Carpathia.
28
BizNS
Mar / Apr 2012
With coverage in the news, many NS employees know that April 15
marks the 100th anniversary of the tragedy of RMS Titanic. The luxury
liner sank on her maiden voyage from England to New York, resulting in
1,517 deaths and a legacy as the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
Here’s something you may not know: There’s a Norfolk Southern
connection to the story.
John Borland Thayer, 49, of Philadelphia, a second vice
president of the Pennsylvania Railroad and a board member of the
Norfolk & Western Railway, predecessors of today’s Norfolk Southern,
was returning home from Europe on the Titanic with his wife, Marian,
and their son, John B. “Jack” Thayer III.
They were getting ready for bed in first class when the ship collided
with an iceberg. In the confusion that followed, Thayer refused to get
in a lifeboat and instead helped women and children do so. After all
the lifeboats were gone, he was last seen looking “pale and determined by the
midship rail aft of Lifeboat 7,” as one witness reported.
Marian and Jack survived and were picked up by RMS Carpathia, which responded
to the Titanic’s SOS. At first, Thayer’s N&W and PRR colleagues thought that maybe
he, too, somehow had made it through, but as the Associated Press and Marconi wires
started verifying survivor names, that thin hope turned to resignation and sorrow.
In a telegram to PRR President James McCrea, N&W President Lucius E. Johnson
of Roanoke said: “We are overwhelmed with grief… at the news that Mr. Thayer
was not on the Carpathia. You and I have lost a good friend and a great assistant
in our work.”
McCrea, in Philadelphia, responded: “We have been hoping against hope, but
are all overwhelmed at the great loss. No one knows better than you how we shall
feel this, both officially and personally.”
N&W’s annual report for the 1912 fiscal year noted, “The story of that disaster
is illumined by the heroism of those who with Mr. Thayer stood aside and sacrificed
themselves for the safety of the weaker. Great as is his loss to this board, it is
overshadowed by his loss to his family, to his friends and to the community where
his distinguished personality was the synonym for courage, truth and manhood.”
“Trains” magazine, in its April 2012 issue, noted that Thayer had been PRR’s
chief traffic executive “during a time of large traffic growth and major expansion of
its tracks and facilities.” Thayer worked to make passenger trains faster and more
luxurious, and handled traffic negotiations and complaints with customers, author
Dan Machalaba wrote.
ITANIC
Today, Norfolk Southern’s archives house a modest file about Thayer. It includes
a four-page statement dictated by 17-year old son Jack and released by PRR as
“Information for the Press” on April 20, 1912. In it, Jack describes getting separated
from his parents.
“As soon as I could get through the crowd, I tried to find them on B deck but
without success,” he said.
Almost to the last minute, Jack and many other passengers thought the Titanic
would remain afloat, but eventually “… I jumped out, feet first. I was clear of the
ship, went down, and as I came up I was pushed away from the ship by some force.
I came up facing the ship, and one of the funnels seemed to be lifted off and fell
towards me about 15 yards away with a mass of sparks and steam coming out of it.
I saw the ship in a sort of red glare, and it seemed to me that she broke in two just
in front of the third funnel.
“At this time I was sucked down, and as I came up I was pushed out again and
twisted around by a large wave, coming up in the midst of a great deal of small
wreckage. As I pushed it from around my head my hand touched the cork fender of
an overturned lifeboat. I looked up and saw some men on the top and asked them
to give me a hand. One of them, who was a stoker, helped me up.
“In a short time, the bottom was covered with about 25 or 30 men. When I got
on this I was facing the ship. The stern seemed to rise in the air and stopped at
about an angle of 60 degrees. It seemed to hold there for a time and then with a
hissing sound it shot right down out of sight with people jumping from the stern.“
That was the Titanic’s end. The body of Jack’s dad, railroader John Thayer, never
was recovered.
According to journalist Andrew Wilson in his 2012 book, “Shadow of the Titanic,”
Marian Thayer had trouble coping with her loss. She turned to a spiritualist and later
in life believed that she was in touch with “Johnny.” She would die in 1944 on the
32nd anniversary of the disaster.
Jack Thayer was portrayed in
Wilson’s book as something of
a boy hero. He went to college,
married the granddaughter of
PRR’s seventh president, fought
in France during WWI, and
enjoyed a successful career in
banking and at the University of
Pennsylvania, according to Wilson.
He rarely spoke of the Titanic,
except in a personal memoir
he created for his family. He
committed suicide in 1945.
n BizNS
N&W’s annual report
for the 1912 fiscal year
noted, “The story of that
disaster is illumined by
the heroism of those who
with Mr. Thayer stood
aside and sacrificed
themselves for the safety
of the weaker.”
29
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‘Use the Code,’
win
a
bear
Brush up on the Thoroughbred Code of Ethics
during
Corporate Compliance & Ethics Week May 7–11, and
you could win a Thoroughbred Code Bear.
Norfolk Southern is participating for the fourth year
in the national event, which underscores the importance
of ethics and compliance in today’s corporate environment.
NS’ theme is “Use the Code,” focusing on ways the
Thoroughbred Code of Ethics can help employees
perform their jobs and promote the company’s SPIRIT values.
NS’ ethics and compliance program will sponsor an online “Where’s the Code Bear?”
contest featuring its popular Code Bear, who will be pictured visiting various work
sites on NS’ ethics web site. Employees who identify the Code Bear’s location will
be eligible to win one of the cuddly bears.
Other online activities and employee communications will be featured during the
week on the railroad’s ethics and compliance website at http://ethics.nscorp.com.
Retirees:
NS
can
use
your
help
The views of Norfolk Southern retirees
on issues affecting the railroad industry are
important and appreciated – and when you speak up, it is effective. Earlier this year,
for instance, quite a few NS retirees contacted their members of Congress to help
make the industry’s case against bigger, heavier trucks.
If you are a retiree who would like us to contact you when your voice is needed
on Capitol Hill, please send an email to [email protected] with the words
“Retiree Voice” in the subject line.
You will be added to NS’ email contact list to receive messages explaining key rail
issues and ways to contact your Congressional delegation. NS will not bombard you with
emails, share your address, or solicit you for monetary contributions.
NS Main Number:
855-NOR-FOLK
website: www.nscorp.com
10.0312.3679.36K
All materials used in the production of this publication are recycled.
Please help the environment by doing your part and recycling.